Monday, July 07, 2008

Love Means Never Having To Say You're Sorry...

"Looking back at my career in NHL, I would like to say sorry to the owner of Washington Capitals Ted Leonsis who spent a lot of money to get me, but I didn't play like many people expected. If I have opportunity to talk to him some time in the future then I'll try to explain him everything."

But really, what's left to explain? You got paid, you got horrible, you got traded, we got Ovechkin. End of story, no?

15 comments:

I hated the way Jagr played here, but the guy is just a head case. I don't believe he does anything with malicious intent, he's just a loon. Which is why I feel that some of the more intense diatribes celebrating his NHL-retirement are a little overdone.

I'd almost feel bad for him, except (as we've all noted) the $100+ MM he's pocketed. You know, minus all the IRS penalties and everything.

J.J. just wants to be loved, is that so wrong? It seems from recent quotes that he's understandably concerned about his legacy, and with gas prices out of control, the mortgage crisis, the debacle in Iraq, etc., there's no way he can save it now so he might as well invade Iran.

1) Hard to say Jagr 'got horrible' The guy was admitedly NOT at his best, but 201 points in 190 games played is hardly horrible. 2) The contract that Ted gave JJ was indeed horrible! Anyone who knew Jagr should have seen that he isn't the kind of player you build around and win championships. 3)Ted was probably trying to make a splash with the deal, but he ended up taking a bath. Good for Jagr for admitting he didn't play his best there. But don't expect a refund any time soon.

The Jagr-to-DC situation parallels the Alex Rodriguez-to-New York situation in the sense that the fan base assumed because of the acquisition the championships would start rolling in...and placed the blame on the feet of the new superstar when they didn't. If I recall correctly, Jagr missed time during his first season with a knee injury, played hurt at times and still finished third in points per game (1.18) behind Bertuzzi (1.19) and Iginla (1.21), yet was generally cited as the reason for the Capitals failures. Of course, that doesn't excuse Jagr from getting pouty and underperforming for the next 1.5+ seasons, but it's worth noting

I think Caps fans blame Jagr for just about everything. I know when I go to the gas pump all I think is "JAGR!" when the price per gallon is over 4 bucks...But seriously, Jagr gets alot of heat from Caps fans not just for his play, but also he is seen as the spark that ignited the fire-sale that sent beloved players such as Bondra away.

A retrospective Jagr, who swayed between emotion and laughter during the interview, said he wished things could have worked out better during his three years in Washington.

He felt bad for Capitals owner Ted Leonsis.

"If I ever have a chance to talk to Ted Leonsis, I would try to explain everything to him," said Jagr. "I tried my best but it just didn't work. It's not like I didn't try, it just didn't work. He spent a lot of money to get me there to Washington and for whatever reason I just didn't play the way they expected me to play."

At least he's finding reality and even some humility - it's almost like you'd be willing to take him back into your heart if you thought it would help the team - wait a second what am I writing - silly wabbit - trix are for kids and Jagr is just trying to make amends for years of being a jerkhead - don't even think it....